In this class we will study six major works of modern fiction: Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier, D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love, Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust, Samuel Beckett's Molloy, and V.S. Naipaul's Miguel Street. Reading closely and slowly, we will consider in as much detail as possible the formal and stylistic work that went into making these novels. We will also read the texts with attention to historical context and in tandem with some literary criticism. As we go, we will think about some broader literary-historical questions, such as: What was modernism, and what happened once it was over?

Assignments

Papers, discussion, quizzes, informal writing assignments.

Requirements

One 2-page paper, one 3-page paper, a 5-page paper, and a final research paper (10 pages). Each of you will read a second novel by the author on whom you write your final paper (to be selected individually in consultation with the instructor).